Into the Night
by lightning-storm
Summary: Towards the end of the Bakumatsu, Battousai roams across Kyoto at night, not expecting what he'd find.Pg13 to be safe. Twoshot. And please READ and REVIEW
1. Kamiya

Posted at Kitsune-onna 19 and Omasuaniwabanshi's mention. 

Many moons a go I started this little piece to go along with the Battousai psyche one. I got writer's block, changed my computer, and forgot I had this! I just rediscovered it!

AN: I don't really know why I wrote this, I guess I just wanted to practice general/drama,(First time trying) not to mention write something that would fit into the storyline of Samurai X. Wonder if I was successful?

READ and REVIEW.

Disclaimer: Samurai X does not belong to me, it belongs to Noubihiro Watsuki, and will always belong to Noubihiro Watsuki, unless he sells it.

Into the night

A dark haired soldier strode into his rooming quarters looking for the foolish daughter who had managed to stow away with he and the other soldiers as they had left their temporary post in Edo. He had just gone through a THREE hour meeting with his other compatriots, and was now returning to his chamber with obvious determination to discipline his child for her reckless action. Kyoto was not a place for her, for it was far too dangerous and bloody. There were men out there who would not hesitate to slice off her little head, or touch her in some sick way. She was just a child, but in this war, age didn't matter. Pedophiles and soldiers with little honor were common place. The man's eyes darkened considerably as he though of some sick man doing unspeakable things to his six-year-old daughter. He would kill them with no regrets if they had dared. For as much as he seemed a cold, stern, and strict man, his daughter was very dear to him and he could not bear it if something had happened to her.

"Kaoru" the dark haired man said without looking around his room. When there was no answer, he turned on an oil lamp and looked around the quarters. He spotted a single shoe, and a ripped bow. His sheets were rumpled, and the cozy furniture was tossed to and fro, with some being sliced right down the middle, and smear of blood upon the furniture. The man felt his anger diminish into fear as he followed the paths the smears of blood had led too. There was what appeared to be a lump covered with a sheet, and the man slowly turned away the sheet to reveal blacks strands of hair in a puddle of blood. The man looked stricken, but as he looked at the figure a second time, momentary relief flitted through his eyes. It was just a doll, NOT the dead body of his child. Even so, the man's mind began to picture the horrendous scene of what had happened to his daughter.

There was struggling, obviously, and the blood attested to some type of abuse. The messed up furniture attested to a fight, and the careless tossing of it, showed that the girl had hid, before she had finally been caught, and dragged out the window, blood leaving a sad trail. Strange thing was, when he looked outside the trail of blood was no where to be seen.

The man clenched his jaw at that and he furiously punched one of the pieces of furniture that had been in tact, leaving a gaping hole. The man shut his eyes, and took a deep breath to calm down, when he saw something white out of the corner of his eye. He walked towards it, and saw that it was a small piece of paper. With a feeling of foreboding the man picked it up and stared at the neat writing that stared at him from the page's face.

_'We have your daughter,' it said, 'if you want to see her alive you will come to the back alley of the Red Bean tonight at midnight, and not a moment later. You've heard of the phrase, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." It also applies to life for life. Now, If you so decide to ignore this letter, we will not hesitate to follow through with that statement. _

Yashin Michiko 

The soldier read over the note a few more times and clenched his jaws as he crumpled the paper into a little ball. How dare anyone take his daughter. Once he found them, he would not hesitate to kill the person who stole her. He repeated the neatly scrawled letters in his mind, effectively fueling his sadness for his missing daughter into hatred for the man who dared attack his family. The name sounded familiar to him and after what seemed like ages an image came to the forefront of the man's mind. It was at the beginning of the bakumatsu...

Flash

_' For some time there had been a possibility of war, and about six months ago the war between the patriots and rebel groups had officially started. As the men were preparing their temporary base in Edo, word got around stating that a rebel army would be invading their territory. This came far sooner then ever expected. _

The Ishin Shishi had recently set up a new temporary base in the city of Edo. This was not a common thing, as most of the main troops were set up around areas of Kyoto, and Okinawa. The troops were only planning on staying in Edo for a maximum two weeks, and then they would return to the area where the majority of their troops lie in waiting. It was a dark and silent night, but the air was much too still, and the atmosphere much too edgy for comfort. More then the average amount of troops were out keeping watch on this particular night, but even with that being the case, the camp should not have been so silent.

Kamiya Koshijiro held the main watch regularly surveyed the surrounding area. Afterall, in a war you could never be to careful, especially one in which anger and madness constantly blinded the soldier's from what was just. As he did so for the umpteenth time,  
a slight movement was seen in the shadows of the moonlight. The colors were obviously those of the enemy soldier's, and the Ishin soldier pursed his lips. It was time.

He heard the sound of a katana being drawn, and Kamiya pulled out his sword to meet his enemy head on. He hadn't noticed the two older soldiers's who stood close by, but no move was made to ambush him. Instead clash against clash was heard, and his offender was put on the defensive, forced onto his knees. Koshijiro raised his katana to finish the young man, but a voice cut through the air.

"Yashin!" he heard an older man with firm cheekbones and dark wavy hair cry, and the young boy that Kamiya had cornered fell back into the shadows.

Koshijiro inwardly smiled as he met the new soldier's movement's with his Katana. This man seemed much more expereinced, and Koshijiro didn't feel so much like a moster. As fighting those who were so much smaller and weaker, did not bring him much pride. Distracted, Kamiya almost missed the soldier's quick movement. However, that handicap, lasted only a moment.

Koshijiro immediately raised his sword, and nicked his enemy's cheek from his right temple, down to his chin. Unfazed the man carefully wiped the blood that was sliding by his lips, and lifted his sword. He went in for another attack, but his enemy, Kamiya Koshijiro, blocked it, and slashed at the man with as much speed and focus as he.

The sound of metal sliding against metal was heard, and cries of war, hate and anger filled the air. Blood splashed through the air as the Katana's ripped into the souls of each enemy, and the lifeless bodies fell to the ground in a resounding chorus of anguish, and thuds. For a bit, it seemed as if the fight would have no end, as soldiers on both sides seemed to be evenly matched, and neither was willing to retreat for fear of the disgrace and dishonor it would bring them. Nontheless, after more attacks, and deaths on either side, the Ishin Shishi, began to push the enemy back. They destoryed any in their paths.

One of these men, was the wavy haired soldier Kamiya Koshijiro had slashed the cheek of.

Yashin,who had not involved himslef any further in the attack once he was called, was He stared at Kamiya in distress. Soon however, a look of anger replaced his pain, and the young boy emerged from his hiding place, Katana in tact. He stood for a second, staring at his father's 'killer' with bloodlust in his eyes. But then,with new determination and extravagent speed, the boy sliced his enemy's side. Koshijiro had not expected that, grabbed his side and swung his katana around. He missed, and the Ishin soldier realized he had previously underestimated the boy.

However, one fact had remained the same. Although this young man fought well, he lacked obvious focus. He was angry, and his movements were slightly out of line. The Ishin soldier used that lack of focus to his advantage, and after a few matches with his blade, the young boy became yet another casuality of war.

As Koshijiro saw this victim, he felt something akin to sorrow, and a thought occurred to him. What if he could form a new sword style, one to protect, rather then destroy?

Koshijiro shook his head, this was not the time for idealistic daydreams. Right now they were at war, and even those undeserving, could and would die. With that thought, Koshijiro put the boy's death and his ideal for the sword in the back of his mind, and flicked the blood from his katana. When he sheathed it, a movement occured behind him, but it went unnoticed.

As the dark haired soldier left the battle they had just won, a piece of paper slipped out of his gi. It was in this time that the man who Yashin had thought was dead, weakly shifted up from his position. Unlike many of his companions, he was able to shift his body mid attack to prevent fatality, and for that reason he had managed to stop Koshijiro's sword from penetrating his heart.

When he looked up, however, he saw that Yashin had fallen, and that the boy's killer, was that Kamiya Koshijiro.

"Yashin..." the man whispered in a deathly tone.

Fury consistent with that of a father who lost his only child filled the man's heart and mind, and he considered a way to exact his revenge. As he did this, he saw a small piece of paper with an image on it float to the ground. There was a baby girl, a woman with black hair and blue eyes, and his enemy beside them. He knew it must be that man's family, and a wicked gleam crossed his face as he thought of a devilish plan. The man ripped the paper just a bit and wrote something on the back with the blood from his cheek.

Kamiya Koshijiro heard something in the background, and turned around to see a surviving victim fleeing the scene. He attempted to run after the man, but refrained, knowing that only a coward would run from a battle. It was then that Koshijiro caught sight of a ripped picture floating to the ground. Realizing that, he reached for something on the inside of his gi, knowing that he had thoughtlessly shoved a picture in there on his way out.

It was missing.

With hesitant finger's, the soldier picked up the picture from the ground, and frowned. It was the one that he had brought. Koshijiro flipped it, an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

There in the scarlet hues of blood, was a single word, expressing the hatred that had been shown in their battle.

'Revenge'

Kamiya cursed inwardly. He was an idiot. 

End flash

The man tightened his throat, and tore the paper to shreds. When he looked at his pocket watch, it said 9:30pm. It was two and a half more hours until the fateful rendezvous. Until that time he would have to perform some duty and find out how to get out of it before it was too late to save his child.

After a moment or so the man smelt the distinct scent of smoke nearby, and noticed as ashes began to fill the air. Kamiya Koshijiro ran out to see his captain and others filing out of a nearby base with their nose and eyes covered.

"Kamiya!" The captain ordered, once he spotted him, there has been a call for action. "Shogunate soldiers are burning bases all over the place. We have to hunt the enemy down, and find a way to save our wounded men."

"What?" The stern man said in response to his captain command.

"You heard me!" the captain shouted in irritation, "Get to it! We have no time to waste. This can easily take all night!"

When the captain said those last words, Kamiya gritted his teeth. 'All night?' he thought to himself. Koshijiro knew that he could either do as told, and risk his daughter's life, or ignore them for once and run out to find her. Normally the choice would have been easy, but for the samurai, such a choice was a difficult one to make. Duty and obedience was a main factor in the code of the samurai, but his child was part of his heart. Would he go search for her, or do as commanded? The man thought about it for a second and bowed to his captain. He had duty to fulfill but he would not give up on his child.

With much on his mind, Kamiya Koshijiro approached his captain and listened carefully as the man sent each individual person on his or her perspective assignments. Koshijiro did not notice the flying wood pieces, until a piece of flaming wood hit his fighting arm. The man bit his lip at the pain, and looked up to see the enemy. Shortly after, the Shogunate soldier stabbed Kamiya's leg, and he fell to the ground.

Using this as an opportunity, the enemy grabbed his katana and aimed it for Koshijiro's heart. He was just about to finish the man, but Koshijiro felt a strong adrenaline rush, and stood on his wounded leg, hiding his expression of weakness.

Kamiya Koshijiro, would not be taken down that easily, escpecially with his daughter's life on the line.

With that thought Koshijiro blocked each incoming attack with precision and grace, and for a moment he was able to use his attacker's force against him, and get the upper hand. Using his sword as leverage, Kamiya Koshijiro pushed up on his attacker's katana, causing him to lose balance. Then the strong soldier swirled his katana around and went in for the final blow.

The enemy's defeat seemed inevitable, but just as Kamiya was readying for the strike, he felt an arrow stab into his already wounded shoulder. Thick blue liquid flowed from the wound and mixed with his blood. The majority of Koshijiro's strength gave out almost immediately, and his perfect vision became blurry and unstable. One of his compatriots's were soon beside him, and the enemy soldier fell to the ground.

A strong feeling of dizziness overtook Koshijiro's senses, and he collapsed to the ground. The soldier barely discerned the fall of a second enemy, when a distant but clear and familiar voice penetrated his mind.

"It's Poison!"

And with that, the man felt the rest of his strength give out. His vision went completely black. Two phrases went through his mind as it did. Would he be able survive, and if not what of his daughter? Would she be saved?

To be continued...

An: Well this started off last minute, but I guess I can't say that anymore. Afterall, it's been what, three years? WOW! Well, my dear reader's, if I have any, I do hope my story was satisfactory. Even if you don't like it though, please REVIEW!

Oh and Scarred sword heart, thank you so much for reminding me of Kaoru's father's real name.


	2. Battousai

Posted at Kitsune-onna 19's asking. 

READ and REVIEW.

Disclaimer: Samurai X does not belong to me, it belongs to Noubihiro Watsuki, and will always belong to Noubihiro Watsuki, unless he sells it.

Into the Night 

"Kyoto," the word slipped out of a lone man▓s mouth in a whisper as he traveled beneath the forsaken shadows of the vacant, dusty, road.The very ground seemed to be stained a permanent color of a deep, scarlet shade of red, and the air constantly filled with the smell, feel and taste of the thick vile liquid. The midnight sky seemed to be cloaked with the thickest darkness, while the faded moon light seemed to shine with sorrow and pain upon the tainted grounds. None would walk amongst these shadows save for the very cruel, or very dangerous. For, it was in this city of Kyoto that hundreds upon thousands of people had lost their precious lives by the hands of revolutionaries, assassin's, and rebel government groups alike. It was a cursed. bloodstained land wherein, the spirits of those killed constantly paced searching for their killers. And it was in this land that the murderous Battousai became a legend.

He was cold, cool, calm, and ruthless, with eyes that shone as a demon's, and red hair said to be dyed by the blood he had shed.The man did not think, he merely accepted and completed his path of chaos and death. He had been the executioner, the prized assassin for the government officials, and night after night he had roamed these streets, searching for the victims his master had identified. He was like a machine, the perfect killing machine with lightning fast attacks, superbly sensitive senses, and speed so fast it that it could be compared to that of a dragon from the underworld.And now he was hunting again. Not because of an assignment, but because his compatriots had been attacked. That was not to be forgiven, and so he went searching, following the killing chi of a few of his enemies who had been foolish enough to enter his territory. What he would do when he found them, he wasn't sure, but he would come up with that when the time arrived.

After much searching the man had finally sensed his enemy chi. There were 12 of them, no 13, but the thirteenth was young, weak in comparison, and filled with fear and apprehension.

'Was that a child,' he thought to himself.

He got his answer soon enough, as a harsh smacking sound was heard, and a young cry. The intensity of the child's fear went up ten fold, but in it's fear, something akin to defiance was found. The man was curious about that reaction, and disturbed, not because he was afraid, for he was never afraid, not truly, but because the enemies had a hostage, a witness to the small man's actions. The young man heard another smacking noise, and smelled the stench of freshly spilt blood. His steely blue-violet eyes turned the color of molten gold and he gripped the handle of his katana tightly, killing instincts effecively in place. He found the group of heavyset shogunate soldiers he had sensed and a small form on the ground, trying to get up, but having great difficulty. One of the shogunate hit the form, and it fell to the ground in a heap.

"Why don't we just kill her leader?" he saw one of his enemies state with a blood thirsty look in his eyes, "Her father hasn't yet arrived in accordance to our letter, and my blade seeks out fresh blood."

The golden eyed man gripped his sword as he heard this, and readied himself to slice the man in half. To pick on those who could not defend themselves, escpecially young children disgusted him. He saw the leader give his consent to kill the child, and the man gleefully accepted. However, before the shogunate could suceed, the red haired man took his chance and stabbed his blade through the man's chest. The figure fell to the ground in a bloody pool.

"Whose there?" the leftover men pulled out their own weapons at the sound of the low thud. They scanned the area for anything unusual. All seemed normal in the dead of the night, and they growled before lowering their weapons. Amongst the 11 men, stood one with higher senses, and he sneered as he saw a sillhouette in the darkest shadows of the ground. He took out his sword.

"Do you plan to challenge us stranger?" He stated curiously, before placing his sword at the child's neck. The red haired man narrowed his eyes, and said nothing.

"Well then," the leader stated mockingly as he took in the slight form. It was not easy to see the details of his face, but the leader looked at one of the men of his group as if to signal an attack and the figure advanced. The small man easily blocked the first attack.

"I don't want to kill you." the small man said nonchalantly.

The figure that had advanced laughed. "I doubt that will be too much of a problem." The larger figure charged again, and the smaller one lowered his head, covering his golden eyes with his blood red mane.

"Good " the red haired man said as his challenger took another swing, and.with speed and catlike grace the red haired man drew his sword and sliced through him like paper.

"Take that as a warning and release the girl." Batousai whispered hauntingly.

The ten men left were stunned, but they stubbornly shook there head and took out their weapons. The easy defeat of their two comrades was an insult to the pride that all samurai held, and they could not be left the victim, unless they themselves were killed. All attacked the man, but in two or three sweeping moments, they were down.

The leader looked amused for once, and took out his weapon.

"I guess one can't always be judged by their size, " he stated simply, "but I will not fall so easily as the other's. Shall we begin?"

The smaller man lowered his katana slightly.

"I do not wish to fight you if I can help it," he said with an icy tone, "now let the girl go."

The leader looked at the smaller man in curiousity, "You take down all of my men, and then say you do not want to fight if you can help it? You are a strange one indeed. But you are foolish to think I would let you go after you killed them AND showed such skill. So now..." The man lifted up his katana and walked into the dim light that the oil lamps provided. He was a tall, well built man, with chizeled cheek bones, and dark wavy hair. A long, deep scar was drawn from the right side of his temple, to the bottom of his well shaped chin, and a look of bloodthirst and amusement glowed in his dark eyes "...we fight."

The smaller man nodded regretfully and returned to fighting stance, his monotone voice cut through the night air."Then you shall die."

The two fighter's charged at one another, and the clanging of their swords echoed amongst the silent night, as the moon shined hauntingly upon the scene. Swing, after swing had been blocked, until finally the challenger reached a speed that could be compared to the gods and stabbed through the man's defenses using his katana and another hidden weapon. The red haired man barely managed to block the attack, and looked stunned. Before one could blink, the man disappeared and his katana protruded from his challenger's lung. The man fell into the pile of his lifeless comrades with a shocked look on his face. Purposely, the red haired man stepped into the dim light of the oil lamp and looked down at his newest victim. The leader laughed like a madman as he took in the red hair, stance, and cross shaped scar on the left side of the small man's face.

"Battou-sai..." His whispered, just as he breathed his last breath, and then he was gone, eyes opened and glossy just like the rest. Battousai glanced at the gruesome sight nonchalantly, and flicked off the blood on his blade. His eyes glowed in a murderous and empty amber tone, and his lips thinned out in a hard line. There was no seeming remorse in his eyes, nor compassion for the child before him. For how could a souless feind have any emotion other then emptiness and despair. Battousai cruelly began to step away from his victims and the girl. Yet, he can not go more then three feet before his honor compeled him to turn back and take a good look at the scene that had just played out.

There was so much blood, that Battousai could surely drown in it. 12 bodies with open, glossy eyes lie in thick pools of blood, and the dingy gray walls were covered with a brilliant blanket of scarlet red. Battousai's once blue kimono, and gray hakama pants seemed to be drenched in the thick, sticky, scarlet liquid of his victim's life force. Battousai stepped forward and closed the eyes of his enemies, all the while his memory played back their last words. "They should have turned away when they had a chance," he muttered,but because they hadn't, their bodies now lie in pools of death. Looking away from the dead bodies, battousai saw the small child with blood dripping from her cuts, and various bruises from her captors. There was no honor in leaving a helpless child behind, only disgrace, and so Battousai approached the small form. She was covered with blotches of blood, her blue kimono, had violet stains where the blood had hit her, and her breaths seemed to come out in shallow gasps. She looked rather pathetic with her ripped kimono, and black hair plastered to her pale face, but vulnerable as well. How could such a tiny thing have such defiance, Battousai thought, but there was no time for such thought. She was wounded badly, and her breaths seemed to grow weaker as the seconds past.

"Girl," he said in a cool tone when he got within a two foot radius from the child, but there was no response from her tiny figure.

"Girl." he repeated and shook the girl slightly. This time a groan was heard from her tiny form and the girl opened her big blue eyes dizzily. She stood staring up with a strange glaze in her eyes for a moment, but then blinked and stared at her savior. She backed up a little and felt the body beside her before looking towards it and beginning to scream. Her savior immediately covered her mouth and she blinked before backing up more and covering her head with her arms in fear. A twinge of sympathy for the child leaked into the man's heart as he he watched the tiny being before him. With skilled movements and medical indifference he took the child's wounded shoulder in one of his calloused hands. With his free hand he attempted to rip some pieces from his kimono and belt, and pulled out a canteen of water. The child flinched as he poured the cold liquid on her wounds, but did not scream as he carefully wiped them clean.  
"This will not take long," he stated in his calm tone, and the girl removed her trembling arms from her head, and looked at the man in surprise. The man just glanced at her briefly, before putting his wet clean cloth to one of her deepest wounds. The girl cried out in protest, but the man held her arm tighter and continued his medical attention. The girl cried out again for being handled so roughly, and he softened his grip as he worked on her other wounds.

"Where do you belong?" he asked cooly he treated the last of her wounds, and the girl shivered before putting her tiny arms around her body. She was silent for a bit, but then she seemed to choke on her tears as her small body began to tremble.

"I..." Noting this, the man felt some of his humanity return, and placed his hand on the girl's shoulder just as he had done when the village children who came to his and his wife's house were sad. The girl's nervous trembling had died a little and she looked at him with hesitent eyes before looking out to the darkness.

"Come."

Battousai held out his hand for the girl, and she hesitently took hold of it, before pulling to a little clearing to the left. A briefest twitch of a smile reached the man's face, and he walked towards the direction she had pointed.

It was a long silent walk, but eventually the red haired man felt the girl try and pull from his hand. He quickly let go and the girl did a quick bow before running into a well lighted inn.

"Papa!" he heard the girl cry, and a tall tired looking man with dark hair, a goatee, wounded shoulder, cut leg, and katana at his waist looked up and glanced towards the child. The man closed his eyes quickly as if in disbelief, and covered his eyes with his good arm to make sure he wasn't imagining things. When he realized it was no dream, he stood up and crossed the floor with as much dignity as he could muster with his wounds.

"My god." he whispered in semi rough tone,"I thought they would have killed you." The man took his daughter in a bruising hug before she she shook her head and pointed towards the door.

"They tried but that red haired man..."

The dark haired man glanced towards the direction his daughter had pointed, and could have sworn he saw a flash of red, and a small man with a scarred face merge into the shadows. Was that Battousai?

The man tried to remember if he had seen his stoic compatriot at the base earlier, and frowned as he remembered the small man snaking out of the back a short while before Kaoru was discovered. Very little was known about Battousai, for he never seemed to talk unless it was business matters, and when it came to meetings, he was almost always the first to slip out at the conclusion. He was a loan wolf, a deadly, silent prowler in the night, and an 'invisible man' come day break. To be willing to go out of his way and save a small child without an order, was hard to comprehend, and yet...

"Himura." the man stated in the lowest of whispers. The man looked at his child and led her to a trusted companion. "Stay here," he ordered, and without a thought the man zoomed out the door looking for his daughter's savior. "Himura!" He called again into the silent night, but other then a quick moment that could have easily been a rat beneath the shadows, the hitokiri was no where to be seen. Once again Battousai had melded into the shadows and disappeared into the night; never to be seen by innocents again.

End

AN: So I was finally able to add Kaoru's father's piece! And I have to say, I'm happy I did, even if it's not as good as this one. Thanks Omasuaniwabanshi, even though you'll probably never see this.

Now, email me and let me know what you think, or REVIEW. For all you who hate Kaoru being a random character. I did that because I knew that the Kenshin 'pilot' had Kaoru's father as Battousai's compatriot. Also, in the anime, it said that her father survived the end of the Bakumatsu era, and became a honored policeman of the meiji era as soon as it began.

This is basically just a piece to go along with that, and an in-depth view to how Battousai's psyche really worked based on what I concluded from Watsuki's notes and the manga version of the OVA, rather then the way the most Battousai fics I used to read portrayed him. (Sex-crazy, impulsive, lover of killing and war) He's not like that! cries

Well people... REVIEW Okay?! 


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